The cost of rent varies across the country considerably, with a survey by Accommodation for Students showing average student rental rates at £86.76 per week in 2015/6. London had the highest rates with an average of £136 per week, and Stockton the lowest at £56 per week. Newcastle, Sheffield and Birmingham offer city locations with rentals prices below the UK average.

Some rental prices include utility bills (gas, electricity and water), whereas others don't. It's probable that you will pay more for bills over the winter; but less use in summer will help even this out. Some companies offer fixed tariffs, which can often work out as more cost effective.

www.glide.uk.com is a great website to check out - instead of one tenant being responsible for obtaining the money for bills off other tenants and paying it all themselves; Glide ensures that each tenant pays for their share of the bills only, meaning you won't have to worry if one tenant doesn't pay up.

Tv licence

You'll probably only need one licence between you if you have a joint tenancy agreement for the whole house - this is the most common type of shared house arrangement. You might need your own licence if your accommodation is self-contained.

There are lots of different ways to buy a TV Licence. Whether that's through weekly cash payments, using your nearest PayPoint outlet, spreading the cost with monthly, quarterly or yearly direct debit, credit/debit card or by post - just choose the one that suits you best.

You need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch or record live TV programmes on any channel, or download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer.

This could be on any device, including a TV, desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, games console, digital box or DVD/VHS recorder.

Full time students are exempt from paying council tax - your University's Accommodation Office should issue you with a Council Tax Exemption Certificate; but if not, you may need to contact your local council. Part time students are not exempt, so if full time and part time students are sharing a property; the part time students will be required to pay council tax.

Contents insurance

Students are an easy target for burglars - there will be lots of laptops and valuables in the house, which become especially vulnerable if students are home during the holidays. Therefore, it is a very good idea to get insured - there are a variety of companies offering many different options - try Endsleigh ( www.endsleigh.co.uk ), who have insurance options especially for students.

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